What Suttons Bay Is Building at the Water's Edge While the Marina Sleeps

The slips at the Suttons Bay Village Marina have been empty since mid-October. The marina's posted season runs May 15 to October 15, and the harbormaster's radio on channel 16 goes quiet for the winter. Look north from the marina entrance, though, across Adams Street to where the new marina park sign stands, and the off-season looks busy. There's a building going up that the village calls the Marina/Public Comfort Station, and the sign on the village website says it is "coming soon spring 2027."

That building is the biggest of several projects along the village's edge this year. A bathhouse, a fishing pier, a creek restoration and a trail bridge each have their own budget line and their own reason. Put them together and they show the village rebuilding its public waterfront for people who use it in January as well as July.

A Bathhouse Built Across the Street, on Purpose

The original plan was simple. The village would tear down the old marina bathhouse and build the new one in the same spot. In 2024 the Suttons Bay Village Council changed course and moved the new building to the other side of Adams Street. The Leelanau News reported that the move came down to scheduling, and it quoted Village Manager Rob Larrea on why:

"We were going to have to tear down the current bathrooms, get in there, and get it closed up before winter hit, and try to finish it and not lose too much time in the spring when all the boaters came back. It was a longshot. We started looking at the northern side of the marina entrance, where the new marina park sign is, and that actually resolves a lot of our concerns."

Because of that decision, the old bathrooms stayed in service through the 2026 boating season while the new building rose across the street. The same Leelanau News report describes the new facility as a marina bathhouse with year-round public restrooms. The words "year-round" matter most to people who live here. A boater bathhouse serves the summer crowd. Public restrooms that stay open in February serve the people walking the beach at Marina Park after the transient slips have emptied.

Where the Comfort Station Stands This Fall

The project has kept to the calendar the village set for it. At the June 15, 2026 council meeting, Larrea reported that the village had received six bids for the bathroom project. The goal was to start in July and have the building enclosed before winter. At the October 19 meeting, he told council the Comfort Station project was on schedule and the road had reopened.

Getting the shell enclosed before snow is what makes the spring 2027 date realistic. With walls and a roof up, work can continue indoors through the cold months, and the building can be ready around the time the harbormaster's season reopens in May.

The restroom is only part of the marina's plan. The village's marina page says Suttons Bay received two State of Michigan Waterways grants in 2024 and lists a new A-Dock alongside the restroom and boater facility. UpNorthLive reported in 2024 that one of those grants covers the boater facility and the other covers A-Dock. If you want the full picture, the 2024 Marina Master Plan and the comfort station drawings are both linked from the village's marina page.

The Pier and the Creek Got There First

Two smaller projects show the same approach, which is to fix the public shoreline while foot traffic is light.

The Coal Dock fishing pier collapsed and was closed, according to the village's Spring 2026 newsletter. By the June 15 council meeting, Larrea reported that the fishing pier had been completed. The pier went from collapse to completion within one spring.

At Waterwheel Park, the work is slower and partly underground. The spring newsletter said restoration of Waterwheel Creek was continuing, with work to establish the creek banks and remove invasive species. In June, the Invasive Species Network was on site identifying invasive species along the Waterwheel Park stream, and soil samples had been taken for a separate dredging project.

Half a Mile South, a Culvert Becomes a Bridge

The shoreline work continues just outside the village on the Leelanau Trail, the 17-mile paved corridor that TART Trails maintains between Traverse City and Suttons Bay.

At the Leo Creek crossing, TART is replacing the old culvert under the trail. On its Leelanau Trail project update, the trail group says the aim is "to improve water flow and enhance the ecological health of the surrounding area." UpNorthLive reported that a bridge is replacing the culvert so the creek can flow more naturally and to help prevent erosion along its banks.

The detour started September 14, 2026, and TART says it will last "through late Fall." The Leelanau Trail page links a suggested detour map. The Record-Eagle reported that completion was slated for later this fall. TART has not posted an opening date, so check the trail page before heading south out of the village on foot or by bike.

Why this crossing matters more than most

The creek runs through Leo Creek Preserve, nine acres just south of Suttons Bay along the trail that were donated to Inland Seas Education Association in 2024. The preserve has more than 1,000 feet of frontage on Leo Creek, a groundwater stream that feeds Grand Traverse Bay, plus about a mile and a half of trails with a creekside boardwalk and vernal pools. Inland Seas says the preserve is open to the public year-round, roughly half a mile from its downtown campus, and "can only be accessed from the Leelanau Trail."

Because the trail is the only way in, the preserve's access depends on this crossing, and the culvert under it is the creek the preserve was set aside to protect. The bridge serves the trail, the stream and the preserve at once. Once the detour comes down, Inland Seas invites visitors to log the plants and animals they spot through its Walk the Wetland iNaturalist project.

Winter use is the next question. TART grooms the Leelanau Trail as far as the 4th Street Trailhead when conditions allow, for classic and skate skiing, fatbiking and snowshoeing. TART has not yet said whether the Leo Creek work will affect grooming this winter.

Where Each Project Stands

November Pulls Everyone Back to Front Street

While the marina and the trail are in the middle of construction, downtown fills the gap with two Saturdays built for the people who stay through winter.

The Suttons Bay Chamber's Friends & Family day, also called Pack the Pantry, pairs storewide sales with donations of nonperishable food and hygiene items for Leelanau Christian Neighbors. The Leelanau Ticker's fall guide lists it for Saturday, November 21. The Chamber's event page also mentions November 22, so confirm with the Chamber before you load the car with canned goods.

A week later, on November 28, comes Holiday in the Village & Santa at the Bay:

1. Shopping specials around the village through the day.
2. A free family movie at The Bay Theatre at 2 p.m.
3. Santa arrives by firetruck at 5 p.m. for the tree lighting.
4. Santa visits at the theatre after the lighting.

Kids can drop letters in Santa's mailbox in front of Bahle's, everyone can vote on the decorated trees, and the vintage fire trucks are there for photos. If you'd like a refresher on what has changed in the storefronts along the way, our look at what changed on St. Joseph Street this year is a good companion piece.

Wondering how a new comfort station, a rebuilt pier or a restored trail crossing nearby might shape plans for your own place in the village? Leelanau Living Realty Group follows these projects from council agenda to ribbon-cutting, and you can find more about the village on our Suttons Bay neighborhood page. Relax. We got this.